Why does Spain live in peace while Israel does not?

Answer 1

Answer 1

The analogy between Spain and Israel in their history with Muslim Arabs is so evident that it will be easy to make the conclusions.

Arabs in the 12th century conquered practically all of the Iberian Peninsula and ruled there for 800 years. But the Spaniards , after 800 years, claimed their land back, supported the claim with arms, got it in the course of the war - and threw the Arabs out.

Since then they live in peace in their own country.

Arabs conquered Palestine in the 7th century and ruled their 300 years, until they lost this land to Turks.

1000 years later Jews claimed their land back, supported the claim with arms, got it in the course of the war - but unlike Spaniards, DID NOT throw the Arabs out.

Since then Jews do not live in peace in their own country.

What logical conclusion would you make?

Answer 2

There are a few other major considerations as to why the situation in Spain is different from the one in Israel as regards Militant Islam, then because the Israelis did not forcibly remove all Arabs.

Arab Politics vs. Arab Institutionalized Ethnicity: Arabs were a political institution in Spain, not an ethnic institution. This is to say that the majority of people in Iberia during the Arab Rule were native Iberians and Amazigh (Berber Tribes), not Arabs. In fact, most Arab Rulers in Spain married Iberian Christians to dilute their bloodline. The defeat of the Arabs in Spain (both Christians and Amazigh) was a political event as opposed to an identity-or-social event. Arabs today regret losing Spain in the same way the British regret losing their Empire, but this is a political sentiment not a social one.

The overwhelming majority of the people in Palestine prior to 1920 were Arabs, so it was an ethnic institution and some families have ties to the land that are several centuries older than the oldest possible "Spain ties" were in 1492.

Arab Humiliation: When the Arabs lost to the Spaniards in the Reconquista, many Arabs saw it it as part of the natural ebb and flow of conquests. The Ottomans were making huge gains in southeastern Europe during the same period and Muslims could easily claim that if they needed to, they could deal Spain a deadly blow. This softened the loss.

In the case of Israel, the Arabs of the 1700s and 1800s had been subjected to European Imperialism and Colonialism. The Arab response to this foreign domination was to feel weakened and betrayed in much the same way many Germans felt after World War I. The presence of a non-Muslim State in the Middle East made primarily of immigrants and their descendants, serves as a reminder of how powerless and betrayed many Arabs felt during this humiliating period.

Time Passing: The Spain events happened much earlier in history than the Israel events and are therefore less fresh in people's minds.

UN Resolution Confusion: While the situation in Spain has no UN Resolutions to accompany it, there are a mountain of UN Resolutions concerning the Israel-Palestine situation. Israelis and Arabs argue as to whether Israel or the Arabs have complied with the requirements of those resolutions. Both chose to impart their own unique readings of the various resolutions to prove their "correctness" and the other side's failure to live up to the true meaning of the resolutions, especially where UN Res. 181, 194, and 242 are concerned.